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Annapolis
Japanese Prints of the “Floating World” on view at St. John’s College’s Mitchell Gallery
FOR RELEASE: February 8, 2011
CONTACT: Patricia Dempsey, 410-626-2539
Patricia.dempsey@sjca.edu
A new exhibit at the Mitchell Gallery brings the world of Edo Japan to Western eyes. “The Floating World: Ukiyo-e Prints from the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art,” will be on view at the Mitchell Gallery from March 3 to April 16. During the Opening Reception & Family Program, held on March 13, Art Educator Lucinda Edinberg will lead a tour of “Ukiyo-e Prints” followed by a hands-on workshop from 3:30 to 5 p.m.
“Ukiyo-e” means “images of the floating world,” a reference to the theater and entertainment districts of urban Japan, especially those in Kyoto and Tokyo (then known as Edo). The most popular subjects were those of leisure and pleasure: images of courtesans and actors, of erotica and of the Kabuki theatre. Later, during the 1800s, artists would adapt the Ukiyo-e style that had been honed on these subjects to the depiction of landscapes, as in Hiroshige’s album of prints, “Thirty-Six Views of Fuji” (c.1828-33). The exhibition at the Mitchell Gallery includes all of the main subjects of Ukiyo-e but one—Bijin-ga(beautiful ladies).
Exhibit Related Events for “The Floating World: Ukiyo-e Prints from the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art”
March 4: Member Preview Reception. Be the first to view the exhibition at this elegant wine and hors d'oeuvres reception, from 5 to 7 p.m.
March 13: Opening Reception & Family Program. Art Educator Lucinda Edinberg will lead a tour of “The Floating World” followed by a hands-on workshop from 3:30 to 5 p.m.
March 15: Lecture. Ann Yonemura, senior associate curator of Japanese art at the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, will lecture on the “The Floating World” exhibit at 7 p.m.
March 17: Book Club. Join members of the Mitchell Gallery Book Club for a tour of “The Floating World,” followed by a discussion of the novel “Snow Country” by Yasunari Kawabata from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Registration is required. Contact Kathy Dulisse at 410-626-2530 or kathy.dulisse@sjca.edu.